Once Upon a Time
by KidHeart4
Summary: The last page of Heart's past in revealed before stepping forward into a confusing future.


Once Upon a Time

By: KidHeart4

Heart:

"You're quiet today," Phil commented.

I shrugged, "Just thinking I guess."

"Something you want to get off your chest?" Our manager asked.

I shrugged again.

"Come on, let your ol' manager lend an ear," he insisted.

I paused hesitantly for a moment before finally giving a sigh, "Sometimes I wish things were like they were just over a year ago. Getting my memories and magic back have caused more problems than when I didn't have them. I was able to fight without those things before and knew exactly what I was."

"But you've used that magic to help others haven't you? You helped Duke fend off that creep pharoh? And you made a friend with that vampire?" He pointed out encouragingly.

I gave a half smile, "But something still feels like it's missing."

"Like what?"

"Like a piece of a puzzle I can't find," I answered.

"Well if I know them, and after two years I think I do, they'll help you find that piece?" Phil said patting my shoulder.

I watched the others practicing for their upcoming game. It did bring me comfort to be around them. For a moment I noticed Duke glancing to me and I waved to him. He smiled and then made his shot pass Wildwing.

Soon after practice was over I went to wait outside the locker room for my teammates. As I leaned against the wall with my hands casually in my pockets I rested my head back a little. For just a moment I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. In the room nearby I could hear my teammates laughing about something, causing me to release this breath and smile.

Yet just after this, as my eyes closed, their voices grew distant until I could no longer hear them at all. My eyes snapped open to find I was no longer standing near the locker room, but in an empty broken up room. The stone walls around me were crumbling, hanging portraits were torn up and burned, and it was deathly silent. I looked around my surroundings as they twisted and closed in around me. Whispering voices began to flood my ears that gradually grew louder. Finally there were screams that I tried to drown out by covering my ears. I closed my eyes tight, shaking as I curled into a ball.

"Guys! Duke! Dive! Wing! Someone!" I called out.

Just then I jumped as I felt a firm hand grasp my shoulder. Suddenly I was back outside of the locker room, curled up slightly as I was brought back to the reality I knew.

"Wildwing?" I asked shakily as I looked up at my older brother.

I couldn't even hold myself back as I hugged him, still shaken from what had just happened.

"Sis what happened?" He enquired as he gave me a protective hug.

It wasn't long before the others had come out of the locker room. Though by this point I was at least standing. Duke noticed I was still shaking and tried to ask what was wrong. I shook my head unsure of how to explain what had happened. Eventually I managed to describe what had transpired, regaining my composure as I did.

"Do you think it's a warning? Maybe Shadow's getting closer?" Tanya asked worriedly.

I shook my head, "No, this place wasn't anything like structures here. It was almost like..."

"Like the other Anaheim?" Duke suggested.

I nodded quietly, "Sort of...yes..."

"But if we try to go there Shadow could find you," Mallory pointed out.

"I need to figure out what that was though," I said.

I then thought of my conversation with Phil not even an hour ago.

"Guys, please go with me to figure this out?" I requested.

"Heart, it's not safe for you there," Wildwing protested.

"It's not really safe here either!" I exclaimed, "More and more magical foes have been showing up, attracted to this magic I weild! I keep getting controlled by them or getting hunted down! But if I can find out why..."

I paused unsure of how to finish what I was saying.

"Why you have magic?" Grin asked for me.

I gave a silent nod.

Duke looked at me worriedly. Then he sighed as he rested a gentle hand on my shoulder and leaned forward to look me in the eyes, "Heart are ya sure this is what ya need ta do?"

"Please," was all I said.

Duke then turned to our leader, "Wing, I'll go with her."

Wildwing shook his head before speaking, "No, that's not safe."

Then Wildwing gave a sigh before smiling slightly, "We'll all go."

"Perhaps the star sword can take us close to where you need to go and we can get back before Shadow detects you?" Tanya suggested.

"It seems to tune in with your emotions," Grin agreed.

So we soon got into our battle gear and gathered in the main room. Wildwing put in the code and our display case safe lifted up from beneath the floor. Duke reached in and grasped the Star Sword before handing it to me. I carefully held it up and tried to focus on the vision I had seen. A portal opened and we soon found ourselves standing just outside of what seemed like a ruined city.

"Did it work?" Nosedive asked with unease in his voice.

"Perhaps you're bonding with the sword more?" Tanya said encouragingly.

Yet I was too distracted by what stood before us. Not far into the city seemed to be a decaying castle. The homes that surrounded it were long ago abandoned. Fear gripped my spine as I looked ahead at the crumbling kingdom.

"What is this place?" Mallory enquired as she walked up beside me.

"I...I don't know..." I heard myself say.

"Well, let's see what we can find here," Wildwing said as we stepped forward, "Everyone stay close by. If Shadow shows up we are all to leave together immediately."

"Friends?! What are you doing here?" A familiar, friendly voice greeted us as he rode up behind us on his horse.

We turned to see Prince Borg looking over us with concern in his eyes, "I felt the Star Sword's energy creating a portal and thought I should investigate."

"Prince Borg, do you know about this place?" Duke asked.

"Ay, I heard of this kingdom's destruction a few years before I took my own throne. About 13 years ago now something washed over this land and took the people with it when it left. No one knows exactly what happened," the prince told us as we walked through the abandoned town.

"Be careful gang," Wildwing reaffirmed.

"Got it!" Nosedive answered.

As we walked towards the long forgotten structure we came to a pause when I noticed off to the side two small plots side by side covered with wild flowers. Each bed had a wooden post with carvings that I was too far away to make out. An odd tug in my chest attempted to pull me towards them, but I shook it off.

We approached the large violet doors of the castle to find them locked. Duke began working on the locks with his tools until he heard a loud snap. He then carefully opened the creaking door. Afterwards we began wandering around the emptied halls.

Duke:

As we continued down the long empty rooms I noticed Heart standing beneath a very weak chained chandelere above her. As it gave way and snapped I hurried to her pushing her out of harm's way with her. We both landed on the carpeted floor just out of the chandelere's path.

"Ya alright?" I asked her as the dust settled.

She nodded as I started to help her back up.

We then found a grand staircase and started to make our way up it carefully.

"What else do you know about this place your majesty? Had you ever come here before?" Wildwing enquired as we wandered through the echoing halls.

"Once when I was quite young, I was visiting the queen and king here. The queen was with child at the time and I was bringing gifts to them with my father," the prince sounded sad as he said this.

My remaining eye widened when I heard this, and I worriedly looked to Heart. We soon entered a large bed chamber it seemed. It had been near the royal chambers, a quick stroll away it turned out. All the while we followed Heart as she tried to search for something she couldn't remember. Wildwing, Tanya, and Mallory had decided to look through the royal room with Borg, while Nosedive, Grin, and I remained with her.

"Why would this place call out to Heart?" Nosedive questioned with unease and frustration in his voice, "She lived with the dragons didn't she?"

"Well," I said quietly, "What was her life before that I wonder?"

We all looked around the broken up room. An eerie silence swarmed the air as we stepped inside. In the corner were long abandoned stuffed toys of dragons and other creatures. The torn up quilt on the bed had grown faded with time. Yet the window, unlike others in the palace, was not shattered. Then as I examined the still intact painted glass I noticed something on the windowsil. Burn marks tarnished the stone that formed the wall.

By now the others had joined us. In Wildwing's hands was a golden portrait frame. I looked to our leader curiously, "What did ya find Wing?"

Wildwing looked at his sister with a solemn expression. As though a tremendous weight had formed on his shoulders. He then looked to me and without words confirmed what I had been piecing together as we wondered this castle.

"Wildwing?" Heart asked as she grew worried.

Finally our leader approached his youngest sibling, "I think we've found why this place called you here."

Wildwing carefully showed her the portrait he had pulled from the royal chamber's walls. Revealing what had clearly been the king and queen of this castle. With them we found the young queen hugging a child close to her. A child we knew unmistakably to be the one we now called our teammate.

Heart:

As Wildwing revealed this to me I stepped back against the window Duke was standing near. Seeing myself as a child not long ago in Mother's memory pool I found couldn't deny that the girl in this picture was none other than myself. Yet I shook my head as though I didn't believe it.

"Heart..." I heard Duke attempt.

"Tha-That's not me!" I said quickly.

"Heart, take a deep breath," Grin tried as well.

I closed my eyes, doing as my friend had instructed. Opening them once more I looked at the portrait as well as around the room. Though it echoed familiar, the memories were far too gone for me to recall.

I looked to Prince Borg as he looked away sadly. Then he turned towards me and sighed, "I'm sorry my friend...I wanted to tell you, but felt it wasn't wise until more of your memories returned..."

The prince then walked up to me as he realized before I did that my scales were emerging on my arms. He reached for my hand and carefully chipped away one of them and took it to a bowl of water he'd asked them to prepare. With a sigh he dropped the scale into the water as his reflection shifted to images I barely recalled.

Young Heart:

During a time not long before I would find myself living in a dragon's nest I had become known as the strange child of the king and queen. Dragons feared by many seemed to bond with me. This included one that stayed with me as my companion.

While wandering the woods one day I had found it hatching in an abandoned nest. It's black speckled black egg slowly cracked in my trembling hands until it's deep blue eye looked up at me. As I held it in my hands I felt a deep need to keep him with me and protect him. So I took him home and thus began a swift friendship with the small blue scaled creature.

Often times I would bring him food and it would then play with me. As it grew it began showing me biomes teeming with magical creatures. My favorites being a secret forest and a cavern made out of crystal and precious gems.

Yet one day while exploring the forests I discovered something twisted. Walking into a realm that didn't seem like my own I found what seemed to be a long forgotten seal on the ground. The trees around it were growing hollowed and dry. As though their very essence were being drained away.

As I placed my foot within the radious of it I felt the Earth shake beneath my feet. Magical creatures sprinted and flew away from the forest. The trees shook in warning. Startled by this I didn't notice as a sliver of ebony tried to reach my foot. Fortunately my companion pulled me back and swung me up onto him before taking flight. Looking back over my shoulder as we flew back home I thought I heard a sinister laugh echoing through the woods below.

When I returned to the castle I knew I wasn't expecting to find what I did.

My home had suddenly become a place of fear and panic. Our doors broken down and guards knocked to the side.

"Find the demon princess!" One of the men shouted when I crept through one of the windows to try and find my parents.

"She is not a demon!" One of our maids had yelled, anger by this.

"She makes friends with monsters and dragons! She'll bring this kingdom to ruin!" Another villager shouted fearfully.

"How have you come to this?!" Another, one of my teachers, defended me.

"Let her be taken to the kingdom she belongs in!" A pale warrior shouted.

I stood in shock as this all transpired before me. Never before had the people of our kingdom acted this way. Some had shown concern, but my parents had always assured them that these natural bonds were a strength. It was a sign that I was a being of untapped magic. Yet suddenly it was all being twisted.

I then noticed their shadows, twisting and laughing somehow as screams echoed through the palace.

"There she is!" One of the villagers screamed as they pointed at me, a sword in their hand.

"Princess Heart! Run!" My teacher cried out before as her shadow was pulled from her by a hand along the wall with it, causing her to crumble to the ground.

She then got back up and lunged towards me. I screamed in horror, almost locked in fear. My dragonling companion tugged at me, and I finally began to run up the long staircase. I could hear swords clashing as guards fought alongside my father, while my mother used a shield to protect her king and herself.

"Mom! Dad!" I shouted as I tried to get to them.

"Heart! Fly away!" My father yelled to me, fearfully looking to me.

"What's happening?!" I exclaimed.

"Something has twisted our people, I'm not sure how! But you must get away and survive!" My father told me quickly.

Just then I watched in terror as a looming shadow raised a twisted ebony blade over my father's, striking it in his shadow's back. The halls were filled with my mother's shrieks of agony as she tried to catch him and defend me.

"Dad!" I screamed, tears blinding my vision.

"Heart please go!" My mother begged, "Find a way to live! Find someone that will love you for who you are!"

Her shaking hand brushed my cheek as I stood trembling myself.

"Find a way to be happy as you are!" She wept as though sensing the presence now forming behind her now.

"Mother..." I choked out just as my dragon friend pulled me away, heading down the hall with me just as the same blade claimed my mother's life.

I then watched as her form crumbled over his, clutching the man she loved so dearly.

The dragonling took me swiftly to my room and barricaded the doors shut with a heavy swing of it's tail at a dresser, knocking it down to keep others out. I scrambled through shock to find things I would need to get by. Or perhaps that's what I was telling myself. Rather than admitting I had to leave.

Then I turned just as it began to slide from under the door. The same shadow that had claimed my mother and father's lives. A gnarled hand reached towards me, it's fingers changing into claws. I stepped back against the window.

"Why?!" I demanded through my tears.

"You freed me...your essence...will be mine now..." it hissed in a whispering voice that filled the room like a wind blowing through.

I stammered, recalling the woods I had just fled from, "No!...I didn't know!"

"It's okay dear child, if not you then someone would have broken the seal eventually, but now I am here. Now you have a choice child, either accept your fate and fall with your parents, or you can join the people searching for you and give me your magic, or you can become my puppet. Be greatful, most of my prey aren't offered any options at all!" It laughed cruelly.

I shook my head as my mother's words rang in my head, "I won't!"

"You don't have much choice!" It assured me as it's hands lashed out towards me.

Just then as I closed my eyes to brace for the attack, my back pushing against the windowsil, I felt something warm wrap around me. I opened my watery eyes again to see a wave of light dancing in front of me. It's illumination held back the shadow's grasp. Shaking, I reached out my hand and grasped it as I heard it whisper in a comforting tone, "You have a choice. Wield the gift within you, or live without it."

"I...I choose to live! I want to find a way to be happy again someday!" I shouted as I closed my hand over the light and it burst out in a display of electricity and light, scorching the walls around me.

The shadowy creature shrieked, clawing my bed to try and find leverage. Then it was swiftly forced out along with the attacking villagers. Then silence filled the air of our broken home. Too tired to move I collapsed as my dragon friend curled up around me, snarling at anyone that might come near.

When I opened my eyes I didn't at first remember all that had happened. Then with my companion I unlocked the doors and quietly traveled down the hallway to find the horrors resting before me from the night before. Everyone I had ever known were gone, the villagers vanished as though whisped away with the shadow that had claimed them as puppets, my home destroyed, and my parents gone.

I then found myself burying my own mother and father where they could rest in peace. Tears then flowed freely down my face as I finished and broke away from shock, crumbling to my knees, "I'm sorry! I didn't know he was there! I was just playing with my friend!"

The sunlight caressing my face as I looked up at first felt harsh and cruel. Yet then it's warmth seemed to whisper my mother's last words to me, "Find a way to be happy as you are..."

I then packed a few of my belongings and left my shattered kingdom. Too young to rebuild it, and too small to fight alone if that shadow ever came back. As I traveled I found no sign of the creature I had forced away, and I soon came to believe it hadn't survived the light that had drowned it out. Nor did I learn of the people he had mentioned that had come to take me with them.

Finally I arrived in the neighboring kingdom of Anaheim. Then I turned to my young dragon friend with a regretful expression as I spoke, "You...you need to find a home far away...If they know we're friends, they'll hunt you too! The people might turn on you! I will visit you when I can one day! But... it's safer this way!"

Saddened to hear this, almost afraid as well, he nuzzled me as I hugged his head tight with my own tears falling. As it nuzzled me with it's head, it's blue scales shimmering, it's moan resonated with my weakening heart. It then looked at me eye to eye as we both felt tears escaping them. Finally he reluctantly flew away, while I watched with an aching, young heart until he was no longer in sight.

Soon after I had begun helping out with odd tasks around the kingdom. Though despite my efforts it didn't take the people long to notice there was something odd about me. For one I craved adventure, and two, I couldn't pretend to fear dragons as they did. These traits would bring me not long after to try and save a nest of hatchlings, and a new mother to take me in with them. What lied ahead of me after that was too distant and strange for me to ever understand just yet.

Duke:

Again we looked to our teammate speechless as the vision before us came to an end and the scale in the water shattered into dust. Heart was shaking as she absorbed everything. None of us knew what to say to her. Even I found myself lost for words.

For a moment I thought she was going to crumble to her knees as they shook. I tried to reach out to her to find her pushing by me instead, tears in her eyes as she ran from us.

"Heart!" I called after her.

"Where is she going?" Nosedive asked worriedly.

"I don't know, but we can't let her run off alone!" Wildwing said as he hurried after their sister, "Heart!"

I looked to Grin uncertainly, as though I had been shaken myself.

"She needs you, even if she's forgotten from shock, she needs you now more than ever I think," Grin said to me.

I gave a nod as we then followed after our teammates. Heart had been quick to slip away.

"Heart!" I called out for her without an answer.

Heart:

I didn't know what I was even doing. Why was I running? Why was I trying to get away? Was I looking for something?

I then found my answer as I came across two patches of Earth resting side by side. Two wooden posts marked with carvings to state who were asleep beneath blankets of overgrown flowers. Mother & Father.

Crumbling to my knees I felt my body convulsing as I held myself, crying with an aching heart and a swimming mind. Like my found memories before I knew these things had happened, yet I couldn't look back on them either. The person in those images were me and weren't me all at the same time. This kingdom had been my home. These parents had been my own.

I wanted to reject this past. I wanted to go back to before I knew any of this. Before I had my memories. Before I had magic. Yet there I remained curled up on the ground as I cried before their graves.

Duke:

It hadn't taken me long to find her. Grin was nearby when I did and I waved to him to signal I had found her. He then in turn went to let the others know. While I carefully approached her.

It rended my heart to shreds when I looked upon her. Her small frame curled into a ball as she held her sides tightly, almost tearing her clothes from the tension. Her whole body shook as she sobbed.

I quietly knelt down beside her and pulled her into my arms. Then I just held her without a sound. Before too long the others had gathered around us and the two nearby graves. Each of them gave their respects and then approached Heart until we were all hugging her.

"I have the missing piece..." Heart finally said shakily, "But I don't know what to do with it!"

"Give it some time, at least you have it," Wildwing tried to to tell her.

"To think you were a princess all this time," Nosedive tried to say encouragingly, yet I thought I detected a hint of worry in his voice.

"That doesn't mean anything!" Heart snapped, "That's not who I am!"

"You're right," I said firmly, "Sweetheart, it's only a title. But at least ya know it was there. Ya know the truth an' ya can move forward however ya want to!"

Yet before any of us could move we heard a creature shrieking off in the distance, drawn to our voices amongst the otherwise quiet air. Soon a full flock of screaming beasts were headed our way. They looked similar to dragons, but were formed slightly different.

"Wyverns!" Borg cried out in surprise.

"What are Wyverns?" Nosedive questioned.

"They are far more animalistic than dragons, they must have built a nest out here to protect themselves from hunters. Yet I imagine food is scarce out here," he explained quickly.

We all swiftly kicked into battle mode as we took cover to defend ourselves. Among the sudden chaos I noticed Nosedive and Heart taking cover behind a stone wall while I readied myself for a fight alongside Wildwing, Grin, Tanya, and Mallory.

Heart:

While the others fended off the oncoming creatures I was a bit surprised to see it was Nosedive trying to keep me hidden as I tried to regain my composure. Normally he would have been out there with the others, and I should have been as well.

"I've got you covered sis!" Nosedive assured me as he checked over the wall.

I looked at him confused.

"You okay Heart?" He asked, knowing half of the answer.

I watched as our teammates tried to fend off the opposing creatures. Grin gave a hearty punch to one that dove down with jaws open to bite Mallory. Meanwhile Duke slashed at another with his saber as it tried to grab him.

"I've got to help them!" I exclaimed as one knocked Tanya on her side.

Wildwing fended it off with a puck shot out at it.

"Sis, are you sure you're ready to fight?" Nosedive questioned worriedly.

I turned to my twin a bit thrown off, "We have to fight Dive!"

"That's not what I'm getting at!" Nosedive said, catching my attention from the fight.

"Dive?"

Nosedive sighed, looking frustrated, "I wish we could go back to how things were before! I know that sounds awful, and I'm trying to be a good big brother, but all of this stuff is crazy! You keep getting in more and more trouble, and now to add to everything you're some sort of princess?!"

My eyes widened in surprise to hear this confession. Through everything that had happened lately I realized how much he had been there, closely keeping an eye on me when he could.

"Before coming to Earth you and I were inseperable, partners in crime. Then when you met Duke it started to change, and I get that. I couldn't be happier for you. But now with all of this, I'm scared it's going to pull you further away, and not just from your brothers," he said.

"Dive..." I wasn't sure how to answer him.

Then I smiled slightly, hugging my twin, "Dive, I wish things were like they were before too! I can't promise that more trouble won't come along, but I wish I could! But I can promise that I don't plan on leaving you! Our Anaheim is my home now, with all of you."

My twin hugged me back. Then he pulled away wiping mist from his eyes, as though he had been holding all of that back for some time now.

"Are you ready to help fight back Dive?" I asked, shrugging off my own tears for the moment.

Nosedive drew his puck launcher and gave a smirk as a response. I reached behind me and grasped the base of my glaive, swinging it in front of me to extend the staff and activate the blade. We then jumped over the broken wall we had taken cover behind and charged forward.

"Baby sis! Baby bro! Come to join the fun?" Wildwing asked encouragingly.

"You know it! Let's rock!" Nosedive laughed as he shot out a puck.

Duke was at my side now, "Ya alright sweetheart?"

"I don't really know yet, but I'm ready for a fight!" I answered.

There were three dragon-like creatures flying over our heads. The group of us had gathered together in a circle, our backs to each other. Our weapons drawn we prepared for them to swoop down. Then suddenly all three at once began their decent with jaws wide open, screeching at us hungrily. Wildwing activated his shield to fend off as many as he could.

"Stay together everyone!" Wildwing yelled as he deflected one of the creatures, it's claws scraping the shield into it shattered.

My teammates all aimed their blasters, getting hits on the wings of the hungry wyverns. Grin gave a hearty punch to one in it's chest, sending it flying backwards. It then began flying away back to the nest it had come from, leaving two left. One of the two swooped down, trying to grab at Mallory, who in which I pushed out of harm's way. It grabbed my shoulder and began to pull me up.

"Drop her!" Nosedive yelled as he shot at it's wing, causing it to release me in mid air.

Duke held out his arms, catching me.

Finally the last wyvern left came quickly towards us. It's roar drowned out any other sounds around us. Duke set me down, but kept me in his grip with one arm while he slashed at the creature with his saber. Slashing at it's leg it reared back it's head and tried to bite down on him. Seeing this I felt my magic coming forth again, lashing out with electric sparks and strikes, striking it until it flew off.

Then it was quiet again. Everyone took a few moments to catch their breath.

"Well done my friends!" Prince Borg exclaimed excitedly.

While everyone checked one another for injuries and general well being I found myself returning to the two graves. There I stood silently, not knowing how to feel. In some way I felt like I had found the final piece of the puzzle that is my past, or a page to a long forgotten storybook. A storybook that I couldn't read the ending for. Though as I stood there I did feel some sort of connection that caused tears to sting my face. Some distant feeling echoed in the back of my head that made my skin remember what it was like to be hugged by the both of them. That before I had ended up on my own I had come from a loving family.

One of my hands covered my eyes as I sunk down to the ground once more, my mother's words echoed in my head again...both mothers had begged for me to find...

Then once again I felt a comforting hand on my shoulder. I looked up this time to find Wildwing looking down at me with concern showing through his mask, "Hey there little sister."

"Hey Wildwing..." I answered quietly.

"I don't know where to go from here. This has only raised more concerns. This kingdom, my magic, my...parents..." I said feeling lost, "I just want to go back to how things were before..."

"But like you told Dive, we can't can we?" He reminded me as he patted my shoulder.

Prince Borg then approached us, "My friend, I am sorry I couldn't tell you for a while...I kept this a secret so not to burden you..."

"You were a princess," Mallory commented, "That's really cool!"

"Is it?" I questioned as I got to my feet, "To me it's just another way to complicate things!"

I looked to my teammates, realizing Duke was missing from our group.

"I'm tired of trying to figure out who I am and what I am, I just want to be with all of you and complete the mission we took on together. Every time I think I have things together something else changes. And now...now I find out that it's my fault shadow is after me! I caused all of this to happen! They are dead because of me!" I finally snapped, my energy bursting around me.

"Heart..."

"I'm not some princess! Shadow's hunting me because I set him free somehow!"

"Enough!" Grin snapped, making me look up at my friend.

I tried to wipe my eyes dry, but it was useless. Grin then approached me and rested a hand on my shoulder, "My young friend, you need to stop twisting your own growth! With every discovery of your past you retreat from it. You need to face it now to figure out what your future will be!"

"We know it won't be easy, this is a lot to take in," Tanya then said, "but Grin's right."

"This change doesn't have to be bad, just like your magic isn't," Wildwing reminded me.

"But it's another reason for us to be tracked down, Aten, Shadow, possibly more," I said with fatigue in my voice just thinking about this.

"So we'll do what we do best and send them packing!" Nosedive assured.

I tried to smile, but being in view of the two graves prevented this. I also was wondering where Duke was at this point. So I pulled away to try and go find him.

"Sis?" Nosedive asked.

"Just give her a little bit baby brother," Wildwing told him.

I found myself wandering my long ago home in search of him. As the sun, giving us at least a little light before, began to set it grew quite dark throughout the castle. A shiver ran up my spine as an echoing wind blew through the broken windows. Finally I found Duke standing in my old bedroom. As though sensing I was there he turned just as I stepped inside with him.

"Duke...?" I asked.

He smiled wearily as he admitted, "I guess I'm not sure what ta make of all this jus' yet."

I looked away from him, looking out at the setting sun through the intact window.

"I can't believe this entire time I had a princess's heart in my hands," he tried to laugh lightly, "I'm a lucky man."

I gripped the windowsil, my frustration hitting his peak, "You're suddenly lucky because of that? Is everyone going to treat me differently because of what I used to be?"

"Heart?" He replied in surprise to my outburst.

"I'm just me! My title didn't mean anything! If anything it's what caused all of this to happen! I can't rebuild anything! I can't bring them back! This is a dead kingdom! I'm just...Heart...not this..." I tried to not break down yet again, frustrated with myself for being so angry.

"Heart, that's not what I meant by that," Duke said as he tried to approach me now.

I looked at him, unsure for the first time since I had known him.

"I was jus' tryin' ta get ya ta laugh about somethin', I jus' wanted ta see ya smile again," he said to me as reached for my balled up hand.

Grasping my hands he eventually slid his up my arms and finally my shoulders. He bent down slightly to look me in the eyes that I'm sure were quite reddened by this point.

"Heart, you know I would love ya no matter what. I have cared for ya since the night I first saw ya, an' as I recall ya weren't wearin' a tiara then," he pointed out, "An' it's not 'cause of magic, or a title, or anythin' like that. I love ya 'cause your heart is the one thing in my life I didn't have ta steal!"

"But I don't think you should reject what ya were either," he then said, "Just as you an' the others have taught me. This place, these memories, are part of what gave ya the strength ta survive. The reason you're not a typical fairytale maiden. As I understand it, you were a princess who wasn't afraid ta see the good in others that your people would have shunned. Lucky for me you were simply born that way, or I may be standin' alone back on Puck World right now, possibly behind bars at this point."

.Duke's words had left me stunned at this point. I finally gave in as I he pulled me into his familiar embrace. The weight of everything crashed on my shoulders bringing me to the point of fatigue. To where I didn't even feel him slipping something around my head. Then feeling the slightest weight placed along my hair I pulled back from him to look into the mirror across from us. I then found a circlet styled tiara made of rose gold that was woven with sapphires and amythests.

"I found this tucked away in the treasury, an' I found this with it," he told me as he handed me a very withered piece of parchment stating "For Heart, When it is Time".

"But I don't belong here anymore. I'm not staying here to-"

"Of course you're not!" Duke said firmly, as though knowing what I would say.

He then brushed my loose hair out of my face before caressing my cheek. He then repeated with a smile, "Of course you're not stayin' here sweetheart. You belong with us my love."

Duke:

I looked at Heart, taking in the site of her standing before me with the circlet she had been meant to wear one day. For a moment I could imagine the gown she may have worn to go with it. Somehow I still saw her dressed in burgundy, but with a long flowing skirt rather than a stealth suit. Or perhaps the gown from her memory before?

"But ya should still have some pride in who ya were, if nothin' else than for the sake of their memory, as well as for makin' ya the strong woman ya are now. However it's not the title that made ya this way. You survived this battle, the one against Shadow, the invasion on Puck World, an' every fight since 'cause you wanted ta find someone...an' be happy one day..."

"But I would have still been this way without a crown," she said firmly.

"I believe that as well sweetheart," I agreed, "But at the same time you should keep that as a reminder of where ya came from. Think about it, for years you wondered if ya had a family out there, parents that loved ya, a home that was your own. Now ya have those answers. It's true that it's goin' ta be a bit complicated how ya feel about this right now, but that's okay darlin'."

I looked at her trying to make sense of what I was saying. Finally I sighed, "It doesn't matter ta us if you are a princess or not, but at the same time ya shouldn't feel afraid ta admit this was a part of you. I guess what I'm tryin' ta say is that ya used that name as a symbol ta others, standin' tall against those who would question it. Don't be ashamed or afraid of that. Be the survivin' princess in that regard, the princess that learned ta fight back an' rebuild a life that wasn't what ya might have expected, but one that was yours all the same. Ya found the happiness your mother wanted ya ta find my angel."

I grasped her trembling hand in mine and tilted her chin up so she would look up at me. Her mother's words echoed in my head now as I smiled, "Ya found us Heart, an' ya found me."

At last she smiled through her tears before hugging me tight.

"Take some time ta let this all set in an' we'll go from there once you're ready," I reassured her.

Then I laughed lightly as I admitted to her, "I will say though, as a kid I always wanted ta be a knight an' rescue a fair maiden. The details in the story are a bit different than I ever imagined, but that isn't a bad thing."

She shook her head, finally laughing softly with me.

"I guess it's jus' funny how that all came true in a way, though I already felt like it had the day I married ya," I told her with a charming smile.

She shook her head, trying her best to humor me before hugging me again.

Afterwards we returned to the others with a few things packed in a case. The portrait of her and her family, the plush dragon she had kept as a child, her circlet and other jewels that had been meant to be hers one day, and finally a gown we had discovered being kept with the circlet, the one she'd worn to that ball when she was older.

"We need to return home before it gets much darker, after the magic you used I doubt Shadow will be far," Wildwing said.

"Do you feel any better sis?" Nosedive asked worriedly.

Heart gave a mixed expression in her eyes, "I think in time I'll be okay. This doesn't really change much. I'm still staying with all of you in our home in our Anaheim. I'm still going to help complete our mission and defeat Shadow when it's time with all of you."

"We wouldn't have it any other way Heart," Wildwing told her with a proud smile.

Heart at last gave a true smile as she looked at all of us together. We all returned the gesture, though I added a polite bow as I smiled.

"Duke...?"

"But I have always treated ya like a lady my love," I assured her with a playful smirk.

I could tell she was trying to say something in response, but wound up blushing instead. Finally she shook her head, giving in for now it seemed.

Soon after we returned home to our Anaheim. There we found Phil waiting for us. So Wildwing filled him in on what all had transpired.

Heart:

As we reached our home through the portal I briefly looked back at my first home before the doorway closed between our worlds. A tug on my heart told me that I was done figuring out what had happened in my past. Now I needed to discover what it would mean for me stepping forward. The circlet was still placed on my head at this time. I now removed it as I examined it carefully, admiring the careful craftmanship. Somehow after everything that had happened it had not been damaged, it had survived. I had survived. Through the years, battles, and adventures we had found a way to keep standing together. I now knew what had formed me into what I was, and who I was.

Though there was still a part of me that wished I could go back to the days of not knowing about any of this, there was a part of me emerging that was happy to know who I had been at last. The pages of my early chapters were finally woven together in the book of my memory.

Now I looked to my teammates, my brothers, and my beloved thief. Knowing now more than ever that we couldn't simply turn back the clock to those early days together. That we would have to keep marching forward to figure out where we were headed from this point on.

Once upon a time I was a princess. Once upon a time I was a lonely warrior trying to save dragons. Once upon a time I was a runaway escaping to a distant realm. Once upon time all of these memories were lost to me. Once upon a time I was rescued by chance by a thief. Once upon a time I found a family whom I loved dearly. Once upon a time we wound up banding together in the resistance and found ourselves in a new home here on Earth. Once upon a time we became crime fighters and sports heroes. Once upon a time everything was changing so quickly for all of us. Once upon a time Duke and I first fell in love.

Now here we were looking to the confusing, hard future ahead. Yet we were determined to push through as a team as we always had. For soon enough we would have to step forward and cease looking back longing to return to that Once Upon a Time, Not so Long Ago for us.


End file.
